Aquincum (, ) was an ancient city, situated on the northeastern borders of the province of

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...

within the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

. The ruins of the city can be found today in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, the capital city of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. It is believed that

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

wrote at least part of his book ''

Meditations ''Meditations'' () is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the ''Meditations'' in Koine ...

'' at Aquincum.

History

Aquincum was originally settled by the

Eravisci The Eravasci were a Celtic or Pannonian people who inhabited Transdanubia, including Gellért Hill, Dunaújváros, and Aquincum. Most of what we know about them comes from archaeology and Latin literature. The Roman ruins of Aquincum stand today a ...

, a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

tribe. Aquincum served as a military base (''

castrum In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...

''), having been part of the Roman border protection system called ''

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) * the Latin word for ''limit'' which refers to: ** Limes (Roman Empire) (Latin, singular; plural: ) is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimiting ...

''. Around AD 41–54, a 500-strong cavalry unit arrived, and a

Roman legion The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of ...

of 6,000 men (

Legio II Adiutrix Legio II Adiutrix ("Second Legion, the Rescuer"), was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in AD 70 by the emperor Vespasian (r. 69–79), originally composed of Roman navy marines of the ''classis Ravennatis''. There are still records of ...

) was stationed here by AD 89. The city gradually grew around the fortress, and after Pannonia was reorganised by the Romans in AD 106, Aquincum became the capital city of the Roman province of

Pannonia Inferior Pannonia Inferior, lit. Lower Pannonia, was a province of the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sirmium. It was one of the border provinces on the Danube. It was formed in the year 103 AD by Emperor Trajan who divided the former province of Pannonia ...

, holding that position until the administrative reform of

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

, more than a hundred years later. Under

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

, the city obtained municipal status, while under

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...

, Aquincum became a colonia. Being the centre of operations on the Roman frontier against the neighbouring

Iazyges The Iazyges (), singular Ἰάζυξ. were an ancient Sarmatian tribe that traveled westward in BC from Central Asia to the steppes of modern Ukraine. In BC, they moved into modern-day Hungary and Serbia near the Dacian steppe between th ...

, Aquincum was occasionally the headquarters of emperors. The city had at least 30,000 inhabitants by the end of the 2nd century, and covered a significant part of the area today known as the

Óbuda Óbuda was a town in Hungary that was merged with Buda and Pest on 17 November 1873; it now forms part of District III-Óbuda-Békásmegyer of Budapest. The name means ''Old Buda'' in Hungarian (in German, ''Alt-Ofen''). The name in Bosnian, ...

district within Budapest. Ruins from the old Roman settlement can be seen in other parts of Budapest as well, notably Contra-Aquincum. These Roman structures were, during the 2nd and 3rd century AD, the heart of the commercial life of the Pannonia province. The excavations show evidence of the lifestyle of this period. From the beginning of the 3rd century

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

began to spread in the city. During the middle of the 4th century, the territory of Aquincum was under constant

Sarmatian The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...

attacks from the north. The

decline of the Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...

also affected Aquincum, and the ancient city was largely destroyed by 350 AD.

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

and the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

invaded the region during 409 AD.

Settlement buildings

People living in the settlement could enjoy the achievements of the Empire, like central heating in the houses,

public baths Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

, a Mithraeum and palaces, The most important monuments in Aquincum are the two amphitheatres: the

Aquincum Civil Amphitheatre Aquincum Civil Amphitheatre is an ancient structure in Budapest, Hungary, the lesser of two located in Obuda. The other is the Aquincum Military Amphitheatre. It was built between 250 AD and 300 AD. South of the western gate is an inscription of ...

and the

Aquincum Military Amphitheatre The Aquincum Military Amphitheatre is the greater of two amphitheatres in Budapest, Hungary, the other being the Aquincum Civil Amphitheatre. It is located in the Obuda district, just north near the Danube river. It was built around 145, durin ...

, built in the 1st century AD. These were venues for gladiatorial combats and beast fights.

Aquincum Museum

Many historic artifacts from the city now appear in the

Aquincum Museum The Aquincum Museum is a museum in Budapest, Hungary. It first opened in May 1894. Archeological findings from the remains of Aquincum are on display there. These include items from the local mithraeum. It has an indoor and outdoor part. Paula ...

. The museum exhibits a reconstruction of the hydraulic system. Roman houses and paintings that have been recovered on site. The ruins of a three-level aqueduct have been discovered around the city, many of which can be seen to this day.

References

External links

Aquincum museumAquincum - Aerial photographyVideo footage of ancient city of Aquincum of the Roman Empire.Aquincum Ruins
{{Authority control Óbuda History of Budapest Roman towns and cities in Hungary Archaeological sites in Hungary Celtic towns Populated places in Pannonia Roman legionary fortresses in Hungary Roman fortifications in Pannonia Inferior